The University of Idaho Outdoor Program is offering a mountain bike ride on Thursday, Sep. 3 to Moscow Mountain. The event starts at 4 p.m. and ends at 7 p.m. Anyone is welcome to participate. The event will be limited to 12 participants and they will have to register before Wednesday, Sep. 2.
The Outdoor Program has offered the event on and off for the last 10 years but this year’s event will be different compared to years prior with the current COVID-19 situation.
“In the past it was like a mountain bike Monday that we offered a couple times during the semester,” Outdoor Program Coordinator Sandra Townsend said. “But this year it’s going to be once a week, starting this week for six weeks. There’ll be two mountain bike, two gravel road and two regular road rides.”
Individuals who wish to join will simply need their own bike, helmet and a light that functions on both ends of their bike. Every ride will leave the Student Recreation Center (SRC) on the UI campus and will travel to Moscow Mountain. They will follow the Headwaters Trail up in Moscow Mountain. These bike rides are geared towards beginners so there isn’t a specific skill level needed to participate.
Everyone who participates in the ride is required to bring a mask. They will need to wear the mask when in close quarters but when they become more distanced while biking then participants can take them off, Townsend said. Ten to 15 feet of distance while biking is their ideal distance.
The Outdoor Program will continue to offer trips and activities for individuals to enjoy while in a time of uncertainty. They have faced challenges but have worked to allow students and staff to use the climbing center, rental center and continued to offer multiple activities.
“We’re just minimizing travel, looking for sort of backyard adventures,” Director of Outdoor Programs Trevor Fulton said. “Stuff that students can do on their own after they do it with us or they could even just see what we’re offering and pull it off themselves.”
There are also two mountain bike classes that students can take this semester. Townsend teaches Idaho Fitness (IFIT) 107 which is an eight week course designed to teach students how to figure out trails, proper maintenance of the bike, learning how to corner and identifying a technical challenge. The course is held in the SRC, or Townsend will have students meet at different trailheads. Each student is required to have their own mountain bike. Bruce Saxman teaches the other mountain biking course.
“The idea is just to have folks get to know the area a little better,” Townsend said.
Armin Mesinovic can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @arminmesinovic.